The Sway and Slide of Love

Noelle ended up leaving the room first. The moment she stepped out, she shut the door firmly behind her.

Irene thought that was weird. "Why did you close the door?"

"No reason. Just a habit."

Noelle's cheeks were still faintly flushed, and she avoided Irene's gaze, brushing off the question with a vague reply.

Irene found it odd but didn't press further.

After breakfast, Irene announced she was heading to the back mountain to gather herbs to sell at the market in a few days.

Noelle had been thinking about how to divert her, and this played right into her plans.

"Come with me," Irene said. "And bring two more bottles of water."

Noelle hesitated for a moment. She usually accompanied Irene on these trips, so refusing now would seem suspicious. In the end, she nodded.

But before leaving, she suddenly called out, "I'm closing the door!"

Her voice was loud, ensuring the person inside her room could hear.

Irene gave her a strange look. "Who are you talking to?"

"You."

"I'm standing right here, and it's not like I'm deaf."

Noelle just smiled and looped her arm through Irene's. "Let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be back."

Irene still thought she was acting strange, but the affectionate gesture quickly distracted her. After glancing at her, she quickly broke into a smile and ruffled her hair. "Silly girl. You're old enough to be married, yet you stiffact like a child."

Noelle simply smiled.

The back mountain Irene mentioned was actually just a deeper part of the village.

This area was covered with dense woods, providing plenty of shade from the sun. A narrow path wound alongside small streams, their waters teeming with tiny snails and crayfish.

Since Noelle didn't know the first thing about herbs, Irene had her crouch by the stream, filling a basket with tiny snails. She was busy scooping them up when footsteps crunched behind her.

"Mom, look! I even caught a cray—"

She turned, her excited words cutting off abruptly.

Because the person approaching wasn't Irene. A man stood a short distance away, squinting at her. His narrow eyes made Noelle's heart skip a beat.

She immediately stood up and glanced around. Irene was nowhere in sight. The vast woods held only the two of them.

"What are you looking for?" the man asked as he walked toward Noelle. "Are you looking for your mom? I just saw her heading deeper into the woods. Don't worry. She won't be back anytime soon."

Every step he took made Noelle's muscles tense. She straightened up and said, "What do you want? Stay back! The engagement's already called off."

"Called off Sid nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But you didn't really think it'd end that easily, did you? You and your mom played me for a foot. Did you think throwing some money at me would make it all go away?"

As he spoke, Sid couldn't help but clench his teeth.

For days, he kept replaying the

moment when Hendrix handed him the money A hundred thousand

dollars wasn't a small sum to Sion et

Moreover, he had no desire to benoveldrama

with a woman who was no longer pure. So by all accounts, the compensation should've been a win for him.